whats going on ???????

[foxhuntr]

what is eating my acro ? it is eating the skeleton and all.......don't think it is AEFW.....I noticed it on my tierra del fuego...so I took it out and dipped it and got some kind of bug off of it......took a couple pics...can anybody tell me what this thing is ?

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

That is a chiton and it is certainly not eating your SPS. Something else is causing the SPS STN and the chiton is probably just eating the already dead or dying flesh.

 

[foxhuntr]

will emerald crabs be doing it ?

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

No emerald crabs might pick at the dead tissue but it's highly unlikely that they are directly causing the STN. What are your parameters?

 

[foxhuntr]

My parameters are good....
calcium- 425ppm
alk- 8dkh
mag- 1400ppm
nitrate- 0
ammonia- 0
temp- 78
phosephate- .05ppm

 

[foxhuntr]

the TDF just started coloring up very nicely too......it is the only one doing it and it was on the backside mostly

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

Hmm maybe it wants different flow?

 

[foxhuntr]

You think flow is the cause ?

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

Well it's possible but now that I look more closely, I see that the parts which are dying seem to be those that are shaded. It looks like this piece was mounted at a different angle that it was originally grown since the branches are pointing horizontally. Therefore I'd say those parts are just not getting the right light.

 

[therman]

Emerald crabs will eat Acropora, for what it's worth. After I found them crunching off growth tips I vowed to never again put them in a reef.

I don't know what is going on with your coral though. Can you get a better photo of the affected areas?

 

[foxhuntr]

I will try and get better pics after my lights come on today

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

Emerald crabs will eat Acropora, for what it's worth. After I found them crunching off growth tips I vowed to never again put them in a reef.

I don't know what is going on with your coral though. Can you get a better photo of the affected areas?

As long as you're feeding your tank emerald crabs shouldn't eat any corals. They may turn to corals as a last resort, however they most likely were picking at dead or dying parts of the coral. As scavengers they will consume dying corals.

 

[therman]

As long as you're feeding your tank emerald crabs shouldn't eat any corals. They may turn to corals as a last resort, however they most likely were picking at dead or dying parts of the coral. As scavengers they will consume dying corals.

Well, this one didn't follow the guidelines for behavior, so I wouldn't rule it out completely Mine was eating the apical corallites off of healthy thriving colonies in a well fed tank with no shortage of macroalgae.

 

[pirate2876]

Emerald crabs will eat Acropora, for what it's worth. After I found them crunching off growth tips I vowed to never again put them in a reef.

I don't know what is going on with your coral though. Can you get a better photo of the affected areas?

+1 I have had this issue with Emerald Crags before.

 

[esteadma]

I had never heard of emerald crabs eating sps, but I guess you always runs the risk of rogue cleaning crew under various circumstances. I would make sure you have adequate flow. They like it random.

 

[Reef Pets]

That looks like the work of a gorilla crab to me. Many people will mistake a gorilla crab for a small emerald. Is there a small crab living in the acro? If so remove it.